LEO: Lecturers' Employee Organization

06/10/2026

This morning we started the table session by presenting our letter of support with signatures from LEO lecturers, LEO-GLAM members, and our allies. We plan to send the updated letter on again to the Board of Regents, Provost, and Chancellor tomorrow. Please sign and share in your networks before noon on Thursday: http://bit.ly/FlintReopenerOpenLetter

To be clear: our proposal doesn’t cost very much: an additional 1% annual increase is less than $90,000. All told, an additional 5% increase (3% extra in year 3 and 2% extra in year 4) for all lecturers in Flint would cost less than Chancellor Alexander’s current annual salary. Last time we checked, Chancellor Alexander doesn’t teach any classes, whereas Flint Lecturers teach 55% of all credit hours on the Flint campus. Flint lecturers were a huge part of the increase in undergraduate credit hours.

We need the support of all of our LEOs and allies to call the Chancellor’s office!
Call 1-810-762-3322.

And pass along this message:

“Hi Chancellor Alexander,

This is [insert your name], and I am [insert title]. I am calling with the LEO Lecturers at Flint, who are currently at the bargaining table, to ask that you value their labor and contributions to the University of Michigan Flint and the huge increases in enrollment over the past two years. We urge you to authorize your bargaining team to increase the annual raises offered to the Flint lecturers for the next two years. Lecturers have worked hard to support the university and they deserve a fair share that recognizes these contributions.”

Read more at leounion.org/blog make sure to sign on to this support letter: http://bit.ly/FlintReopenerOpenLetter See less

06/08/2026

LEO Flint Lecturers have met three times now with management to negotiate the salary re-opener previously agreed upon in the last contract. Despite nearly doubling the increase in undergraduate student credit hours required to reopen the contract, management has twice now returned a counter of no additional increases. Zero. Flint lecturers deserve a share of that tuition revenue. And we need the support of all of our LEOs and allies to call the Chancellor’s office in the next two days!

Call 1-810-762-3322.

And pass along this message:

“Hi Chancellor Alexander,

This is [insert your name], and I am [insert title]. I am calling with the LEO Lecturers at Flint, who are currently at the bargaining table, to ask that you value their labor and contributions to the University of Michigan Flint and the huge increases in enrollment over the past two years. We urge you to authorize your bargaining team to increase the annual raises offered to the Flint lecturers for the next two years. Lecturers have worked hard to support the university and they deserve a fair share that recognizes these contributions.”

Read more at leounion.org/blog make sure to sign on to this support letter: http://bit.ly/FlintReopenerOpenLetter

06/03/2026

On Monday from 10 AM-1PM, LEO held a Kick-off Event to support the start of salary re-opener negotiations with the University of Michigan administration. Over 50 lecturers, staff, tenure-track faculty, graduate students, and other allies gathered to support LEO demands.

Read more at https://www.leounion.org/blog/leo-flint-salary-re-opener-kick-off

From June 1, 2026- June 12, 2026, UM-Flint LEO Lecturers will bargain for increased annual raises for the final two years of the LEO Lecturer contract. The 2024-2028 Collective Bargaining Agreement included a salary reopener provision that would allow LEO to negotiate additional increases to lecturer annual increases in Dearborn and Flint if “annual undergraduate credit hour generation on the campus cumulatively increases by 10% from that of the 2023-2024 academic year, known as the ‘10th day count.’” On the Flint campus, the threshold was surpassed with an increase of 19.4% triggering a return to bargaining about salary for its Flint lecturers.

Rally speakers included:
Paul Brown, UM Regent
Kim Saks, Assistant Professor, UM-Flint, Secretary UMF AFT-AAUP
Hilary Murmers, LGBTQIA+ Coordinator UM-Flint Center for Gender and Sexuality, Vice President University Staff United
Claudia Walters, Lecturer IV, UM-Dearborn
Jennifer Miller, Lecturer IV, UM-Flint, Lead Negotiator
Cindee Giffen, Lecturer II, UM-Ann, LEO President

06/02/2026

On Monday from 10 AM-1PM, LEO held a Kick-off Event to support the start of the Flint lecturers salary re-opener negotiations with the University of Michigan! Check out this coverage and support by signing on to our letter to admin: bit.ly/FlintReopenerOpenLetter

Lecturers at the University of Michigan-Flint rallied Monday to demand higher wages, saying enrollment growth has outpaced their compensation.

06/02/2026

Happy hour from 4:00-6:00pm at Rappourt, 2721 Plymouth, in support of our Ann Arbor Education Association siblings before the Ann Arbor Public Schools board meeting. One drink covered by LEO! LEO President Cindee Giffen will be speaking during public comments at the board meeting and there will be a rally/picket after at the Earhart Administration Building, 3700 Earhart Rd. RSVP: bit.ly/AAEAHappyHour

06/01/2026

05/27/2026

Sign on to the Open Letter addressed to the UM Regents, President Grasso, and Flint Chancellor Alexander and Flint Provost Parrill-Baker in support of Flint LEO Salary negotiations in June: bit.ly/FlintReopenerOpenLetter

And join LEO at a Kick-off Rally on the Flint campus on June 1st: bit.ly/LEOFlintKickoff

"Beginning on June 1, 2026, UM Flint LEO Lecturers will begin bargaining for increased annual raises for the final two years of the LEO-Lecturer contract. The contract is being reopened because between the 2023-24 and 2025-26 academic years, UM Flint’s undergraduate credit hour generation increased by an incredible 19.4%! The contract only required a 10% increase over this time period to reopen the salary article.

We are so excited that the UM Flint campus is bustling, alive with students, faculty, staff, and community members attending classes and events. There are great things happening in Flint, from the relaunch of the student newspaper to accreditation of computer science programs to major investments in the Innovation and Technology Complex. Let’s keep that momentum going!

We know that success at UM Flint means student recruitment and retention. Lecturers play a major role, teaching about 55% of student credit hours. In the 2025-26 academic year, Lecturers taught 27% more students than in 2023-24. Over the same time period, Lecturer salaries only increased by 3% per year. Many Lecturers work less than full-time, resulting in an average salary under $40,000 a year. $40,000 is not a living wage. UM Flint students deserve well-compensated instructors who can focus on continuing to innovate in their classrooms and prepare their students for bright futures. It’s past time to raise salaries and recognize the value lecturers bring to UM Flint. This salary reopener is the opportunity you need to make this happen.

We, the undersigned, urge you to come to the bargaining table in June with annual raises that recognize the immense and critical contributions of 250 hardworking LEO Lecturers."

05/27/2026

05/25/2026

Join the LEO Tri-Campus Equity Committee in a cross-campus Kick-Off event on June 1st from 10am-1pm in support of the Flint lecturer salary re-opener campaign. Connect with LEOs and allies from all 3 campuses! Allies are welcome to join for coffee and donuts with the bargaining team from 10-11a and a kickoff rally and lunch following our first bargaining session.

05/22/2026

Our latest Member Spotlight features Ann Arbor Lecturer Dave Zeglen:

Read more in the full blog post on our website! Link in bio to nominate yourself or someone else for our next Member Spotlight!